Firm's e-commerce platform undergoing tests: Hon Hai

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. spokesperson yesterday announced that the company's e-commerce platform for the China market is operational and is currently undergoing tests.

Company Chairman Terry Gou described the initiative as the unleashing of the first few horses from the multitudes in his stables, while announcing that the e-commerce platform's registration requirements has been completed in China. The horses are poised to transform into formidable titans, said Gou.

Hon Hai's approach will differ from the past in the pursuit of the e-commerce platform, said Gou. In place of conventional retail outlets, the company will focus instead on establishing exhibits to conduct interactive promotions directly with consumers.

Gou stated that the situation on the ground in China is evolving rapidly, in particular in the e-commerce sector, with market characteristics vastly different from North America and Europe. In light of this, a structural reform within the company is required. The company is poised to contest the Mid-Western regional markets of China through its e-commerce platform, said Gou. Concurrently, the company has pledged to initiate structural reform, altering the way operations related to commerce, labor, and factories are conducted. According to Gou, laborers may be trained to become engineers, and factories may be transformed to provide e-commerce services.

The company is undergoing a major structural overhaul, as it transitions from a contract manufacturer to a technology service provider, in addition to pursuing what is known as the “last mile,” a phrase used by the telecoms sector in referring to the last leg of the network, where the delivery of communication and connectivity services to end users occurs, according to Gou.

According to an internal source at Hon Hai, the company is poised to consolidate its e-commerce pursuit initiative, centralizing it after a period of fragmentation among various operation divisions. It is set to be headed by headquarter managers.